Detachable handle for cans



June 30, 1942. T. H. JENKINS DETACHABLE HANDLE FOR CANS Filed Sept. 9,1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 30, 1942. T. H. JENKINS DETACHABLE HANDLE FORCANS Filed Sept. 9, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 30, 1942 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE DETACHABLE HANDLE FOR CANS Tazewell H. Jenkins,Chicago, 111.

Application September 9, 1940, Serial No. 355,901

Claims.

Many fluids, employed as beverages and for other purposes, are sold intin cans having a capacity of a gallon or more. Such cans are usuallyprovided in their upper ends with pouring outlets and have at such endshandles for carrying them about. When it is desired to pour liquid fromsuch a can, two hands are usually required to hold and adjust the canproperly to direct and control the liquid stream leaving the can. Theobject of the present invention is to make it possible easily to handlea can of the aforesaid type, or other similar receptacle or container,by means of one hand only, in the act of pouring; thereby leaving theother hand of the user free for other purposes.

In order not to require any modification of the structure of the can orother container, I provide holding means that may temporarily beattached thereto for pouring purposes. Therefore, viewed in one of itsaspects, the present invention may be said to have for its object toproduce a simple and novel handle that may be attached and detached, atwill, to a large can or like container to permit the latter to besupported and manipulated, for pouring purposes, with one hand only.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterizedwill hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but,for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects andadvantages, reference may be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a common form of can having one of myimproved handles attached thereto; Fig. 2 is a side view, on a largerscale than Fig. 1, showing a fragment of the can and the handle; Fig. 3is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 2, on a still larger scale; Fig. 4 isa view similar to Fig. 3, illustrating the locking device for the handlein its release position; Fig.

- 5 is a side View of a fragment of a can, showing a slightly modifiedform of handle attached thereto; Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-5 of Fig.5; Fig. '7 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing a still furthermodification of the handle; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7, showingthe handle sprung properly to detach it from the can; and Fig. 9 is aperspective view of the upper end of the handle shown in Figs. '7 and 8,but on a larger scale than that of the latter figures.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, A represents a can or othercontainer having around the top and bottom flanges B, commonly formed inthe operation of uniting the can ends to the body; the flange or bead atthe top extending upwardly and that at the bottom extending downwardly.

l is a handle in the form of a bar-like member bent into the form of ashallow flattened U,

the free ends of which are bent laterally in the outward direction, asindicated at 2 and 3. The member I may be formed of any suitablematerial and may be built up in any suitable way or, as shown, becomposed of a single strap-like piece of steel. Each of the end pieces 2and 3 is provided with a hook-shaped part or lip which is adapted to beengaged over one of the beads or flanges on the can, gripping the sameand holding the handle in fixed relation to the can while extendinglengthwise of the latter from one end to the other. In the arrangementshown, there is secured to the lower end section 3 of the handle afairly wide plate 4 the lower marginal portion of which is bentlaterally and upwardly to provide a lip 5 spaced a short distance fromand lying behind the plate. In other words, the lip 5 and the plate 4provide a trough into which the flange or bead around the bottom of thecan may be set. A plate 6, similar to the plate 4, and provided with alip 1 corresponding to the lip 5, is engaged with the upper end section2 of the handle. However, in the arrangement shown, the plate 6 is notfixed to the handle but is slidable lengthwise thereof; this beingbrought about by lengthening the plate 6 in the downward direction andfolding it laterally from opposite sides to produce a flattened sleeve 8that surrounds and is a sliding fit on the handle section 2. Thisarrangement permits the plate 6 to be moved upwardly along the handlebar to bring the lip above the upper flange or bead on the can, as shownin Fig. 4, after the plate 4 has been engaged with the lower end of thecan. Then, by dropping the plate 6 down, it can be engaged with theupper flange, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Some means must be provided to press the plate down and hold it therewhile the handle is in use. To accomplish this, I have made the handlesection 2 long enough to cause it to project somewhat above the can towhich the handle is to be applied. Lying behind the handle above theplate 6, and pivotally secured to the handle, is a little lever 9 havinga long arm provided at the free end with a finger piece 19 and a shortarm ll having a cam-shaped edge. In one position of the lever, namelythat illustrated in Fig. 4, the cam-shaped end projects upwardly so asto permit the plate 6 to be lifted high enough to permit the lip l toclear the flange or head on the can. On the other hand, when the leveris swung in the counter-clockwise direction from the position that itoccupies in Fig. 4, the cam portion thereof engages with the upper edgeof the plate 6 and, eventually, exerts a pressure that draws the handleup until it grips the can firmly at the bottom and forces the plate 6down until the flange at the top of the can is firmly seated in thetrough of that plate.

It will be seen that the hand-hold portion of the handle is very long,so that it may be gripped at various points lengthwise of the can tocause the can to be balanced, when supported by this handle in thepouring position, regardless of the amount of liquid contained in thecan at any given time. It will also be seen that the handle, althoughrigidly secured to the can after being applied thereto, can be quicklydetached. Thus, the same handle may be used on an indefinite number ofcans. Furthermore, if it be desired by the manufacturer or seller or"the filled cans to supply each can with a pouring handle, shipping spaceneed not be wasted by reason of the presence of the handle on the can asit leaves the factory; but the handle may be shipped separately or eachmay be placed alongside the corresponding can when the cans are packagefor shipping.

When a long bearing on the upper flange of the can is not needed, theplate 6 may be omitted, and the lever i2 corresponding to the lever 9may have its short end l3 provided with a lip M, corresponding to thelip i, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In Fig. 6 the handle is shown fastenedto the can. When the handle is to be taken oiT, l

the lever i2 is simply swung in the clockwise direction through an angleof ninety degrees or more, thereby carrying the lip id above the flangeB and leaving the handle free to be lifted off the can.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9, there is illustrated a handle in its simplest form,consisting of a single member suitably shaped. In this construction thehandle consists of a long bow-shaped member l5 which should be of springmetal. At the ends of the bow-shaped section are straight end sections66 and H, corresponding to the end sections 2 and 3 in the first form.The extreme ends of the handle member are bent rearwardly and thendownwardly and upwardly, respectively, to provide lips 93 and 59,corresponding to the lips 5 and l of the first form. The parts are soproportioned that when the handle is flattened somewhat, as shown inFig. 8, and the lower lip is hooked under the bottom flange or" the can,the upper hook or lip lies a little above the upper flange when theupper end of the handle is laced against the side of the can. Then, whenthe handle is allowed to spring back and assume a sharper curvature, theupper hook or lip engages with the upper flange on the can, as shown inFig. 7. Preferably the handle tends to assume a curvature which is stillsharper than that of Fig. '7, so that it remains under tension evenafter both ends have gripped the corresponding flanges on the can,thereby holding the handle tightly in place.

If a long bearing is desired between the can and the ends of the handle,the handle may bewidened at both ends as it is in the form illustratedin Figs. 1 to 4. Thus, as shown in Fig. 9, the handle bar is widened atthe ends to produce plate-like sections 23 corresponding to the plates 3and E5 of the first form. Furthermore, in order to facilitate theremoval of the handle from the can, I prefer to provide the lip 59 withmeans to serve as a fulcrum for the end of a screwdriver or otherimplement by means of which the upper lip or hook may be pried up untilit is clear of the top flange of the can. In the arrangement shown, alittle notch 2! is cut in the long free edge of the lip l9. Thus, whilethe main portion of that edge may be pressing tightly against the top ofthe can, the notch leaves a portion of that edge free to be engaged byan instrument to pull or otherwise force the lip out into its releasedposition. In order to prevent the handle from slipping sidewise on thecan, the lips l8 and I 9 may be provided with sharp points or teeth attheir free, long edges, as indicated at 22. These teeth bite into themetal of the can ends and serve to hold the handle against sidewisemovements relative to the can as long as they are subject to the springpressure of the handle.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a singlepreferred form of my invention, with a few modifications, I do notdesire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustratedand described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which comewithin the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pouring handle for a container having eripheral flanges projectingupwardly from the top and downwardly from the bottom, comprising a barhaving at one end a lip adapted to be engaged over one of said flanges,a slide mounted on the other end of the bar and having a lip adapted tobe engaged over the other of said flanges, and a cam device pivoteddirectly on the bar beyond the outer end of the slide in position to actupon and lock said slide against movement in a direction to spread thelips apart.

2. A pouring handle for a container having peripheral flanges projectingupwardly from the top and downwardly from the bottom, comprising a barhaving at one end a lip adapted to be engaged over one of said flanges,and a lever pivoted to the other end of said bar, said lever having alip adapted to be swung into engagement with the inner side of the otherof said flanges when the bar is in engagement with the exterior of thecontainer.

3. A pouring handle for a container having peripheral flanges projectingupwardly from the top and downwardly from the bottom, comprising asingle long bar having at one end a lip adapted to hook over and engagewith the inner side of the bottom flange of the container and having atits other end means, including a cam device pivoted directly to the barfor engaging and gripping the upper flange of the container and placinsaid bar under tension.

4. A pouring handle for a container having peripheral flanges extendingupwardly from the top and downwardly from the bottom, comprising asingle bar member having at one end a lip integral therewith and shapedto hook over the flange of the bottom of the container, and meansincluding a cam pivoted directly to the other end of the bar and anoperating handle for said cam to grip the upper flange of the container.

5. A pouring handle for a container having peripheral flange projectingupwardly from the top and downwardly from the bottom, oomprising asingle bar member having at one end a lip adapted to hook over thebottom flange of the container, and means, including a cam devicepivoted directly to the other end of the bar, for gripping the upperflange on the container, said cam device having a laterally-projectingportion which overlies the upper flange on the container when the handleis attached thereto, and an operating lever fixed to and projecting fromsaid cam device.

TAZEWELL H. JENKINS.

